Ash-sifter



H. 1. SCHAFFEB.

* ASH SIFTEH.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, 1920.

1,378,623. v Patented May 17, 192 1.

A TTURNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY J. SCI-IAFFER, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, Assrenon To JACOB STCHAFFER,or

. BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. V

ASH-SIFTER.

, Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 5, 1920. Serial No. 386,853.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. SCHAFFER, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of New York, in the borough of Brooklyn and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAsh-Sifters, of which the follow .ing is a full, clear, andexactdescription.

In ash sifting devices as now commonly made, the ashes are firstseparated from the coarser portion and the latter is subsequently goneover and the unburned coal and slag or clinkers separated, which entailstwo distinct and consecutive opera tions. An object of this invention isto provide a mechanical sifter so arranged that the operator canseparate the unburned coal and clinkers while engaged in the separationof the coarse and' fine portions, all in one continuous operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved means for'allaying the dust normally created by the sifting op eration andwithout increasing materially the number of parts commonly ,used insifters, or the cost of the complete sifter.

Another object is to provide a drum supporting member which can bereadily and rapidly stamped from light sheet material in one stampingoperation, and which will be very strong and rigid.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sifter which is efficientand rapid in operation, and simple, durable and inexpensive inconstruction.

Other objects will appear from the following description and the novelfeatures of myjinvention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention a rotary cylindrical screenis employed, the unsifted ashes being supplied through a hopper at oneend and the unburned coal and clinkers free from the fine ashes beingdischarged from the other end through a chute into a trayso that whilethe sifter is being manipulated with one hand, the operator can with theother hand remove the cli-nkers and deposit them in the receptacle forthe fine ashes and trip material. and which willibe very rigid, and

preferably of a shapewhich can be rapidly stamped from sheet material inone operation. i

I may also supply a spray of water to the lnterior of the cylinder" bymeans of the hollow shaft of the rotatable screen, in order to allay thedust created by the sifting operation. The invention also. comprisescertain other details of construction as will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan of a sifter constructed inaccordance with my invention;

F 1g. 2 is a vertical longitudinal cross section of the same;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a ing member, and

. Fig. 4 is a plan of the same. I In the illustrated embodiment thecasing is provided with a flanged base, 1 adapted to fit over andsubstantially close a barrel on other suitable receptacle for the lineor sifted portion of the, ashes. i .The body 2 of the casing is mountedupon the base l, its side walls being joined with the base for thispurpose. The base 1 is provided with a large opening 3 beneath the bodyportion through which the sifted or line ashes pass into the receptacle,and a small opening 4 at one side of the body2 through 3 which clinkersand slag maybe drum supportpassed by the operator when it has beenseparated from the unburned coal in a manner to be hereinafterexplained. A removable cover 5 normally covers the opening 4;. Withinthe body 2 is disposed the sifting screen 6, which is; cylindrical inshape and Patented May 17, 1921- carried by drum supporting arms ormembers '7 upon the hollow shaft 8. A hopper 9 secured to one end of thebody 2 is adapted to feed the unsifted ashes intoone end of thecylindrical screen. The other end of the body is closed exceptfora chute10, which isformed therein for receiving the coarseportion or screeningsof the ashes and conducting the same out of thecasing separate from thefine portion of theashesa The hollow shaft ;8 is rotatably mounted inthe front and rear ends of the casing and is inclined downwardly towardthe rear or I chute end for the purpose of causing-a gradual movement ofthe ash toward the chute.

In the embodiment illustratedinFigs. 1 and 2, one endof the shaft issealedas at 11 and has an offset or bent portion 12 the tray normallyassumes a position be forming a crank handle for the manual operation ofthe shaft and cylinder. The opposite end of the shaft is provided with aconnection 13 to a conduit 14 through which the shaft is supplied with adust allaying liquid, such as water, the liquid escaping from the shaftinto the cylinder as a spray by means of a plurality ofperforations 15in the portion of the shaft inclosed by the cylinder. The connection 13may be of any suitable construction permitting relative rotation betweenthe shaft 8 and the conduit 14:.

It is also obvious that if desired the hose connection may be attachedto the crank end of the shaft, with the chute end of the shaft capped.In this embodimentthe crank is utilized to give the drum an oscillatorymovement since it may not be convenient to impart complete rotarymovement thereto. A rectangular tray 16 is supported upon the chute endof the casing by means of links 17, which are pivotally connected at oneend to ears 18 carried by the casing and at their other ends to oppositeside walls of the tray at points between the center of each side walland the corners nearestthe casing, so that neath the chute (Fig. 2) andreceives the discharge therefrom. The tray can be manually shifted atwill about the axes at either end of the links to dump the contentsthereof into a special container, the dumping position being indicatedby dotted lines in ig. .2.

The drum supporting arms or members 7 are illustrated in detail in Figs.3 and 4. While the arms 7 may in their broadest conception be tubularmembers with flattened ends, they are preferably formed by stamping fromplain sheet metal strips in a manner well known. The ends 19 are bent atsubstantially right angles to the cross arm portion 20 to facilitateattachment to the drum and the edges 20 of intermediate section of thestamped strip are bent over in a direction opposite to the arms 19. Thecross arm portion is provided with a central aperture 21 through whichthe hollow pipe or shaft 8 passes and upon which itis supported. Thearms 7 are held against movement on the shaft by means of pins 22 whichpass through alined apertures 23 in the bent over edges ofthe cross armportion and through the hollow shaft 8. The ends 18 have suitableapertures 241 therein for attachment of the arms to the inner wall ofthe drum or cylinder. The arm 7 in the preferred embodiment can bereadily stampedor drawn by dies from sheet metal in one operation, and Ihave found that in the stamping operation there is no tendency todeformity of the article along other lines than those intended, such aswould cause, for example, the stamping to be pulled out of properposit-ion with respect to the dies.

The arms 7 can be of a much lighter material than has been heretoforeused for such parts, since the bent over edges of the cross arm portionprovide sufficient rigidity and strength. The position of the apertures23 in the the side walls of the cross arm facilitates the passage of thepins 22 in the assembling operation, and the pin can be placed ratherclose to the shaft hole or aperture 21, without materially weakening thearm.

'In operation water is supplied through conduit 14 and connect-ion 13 tothe hollow shaft 8 from which it escapes in various directions from thatportion within the cylinder to allay any dust created by the siftingoperation and wash the unburned coal. The hopper may be filled withunsifted ashes, the tray placed in the position illustrated in Fig. 2,and the crank handle 12 then. operated manually (or otherwise) to rotatethe shaft 8 and cylinder 6. The ashes will be carried from the hopperinto the cylinder and the rotation of the latter will cause the contentsthereof to move toward the lower end. During this movement the rotationwill produce suilicient agitation to cause the passage of the finerportions of the ashes through the meshes of the cylindrical screen intothe receptacle on which the sifter rests, while the coarser portionswill be discharged at the lower end into the chute and conducted intothe tray 16. The operator while continuously operating the crank 12 mayalso observe the discharge into the tray, pick out the pieces of slagand clinkers, remove the cover 5 and drop the slagand clinkers into theeshreceptacle through the passage 4. When the tray becomes filled withthe unburned coal, it may be shifted on the pivots at either or' bothends of the links 17 into the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig.2 to dump the contents into a suitable container. Thus the separation ofclinkers and unburned coal can be carried on by the operatorsimultaneously with the sifting operation, thereby saving considerabletime in the complete operation. The water or other liquid which issupplied through the hollow shaft allays' all dust which is created bythe agitation of the ashes. The utilization of the hollow shaft as thesu ply or spray pipe for the water, enables t e application of the waterto allay the dust in the most efficient man ner, avoids the use of extrapipe, very materially simplifies the construction, and reduces the cost.

It is obvious that various changes may be 1. In a sifter, a screen, acasing inclosing said screen, a support rotatably carried by said casingand mounting said screen for a sifting movement within the casing, meansfor feeding a substance to be sifted to the screen, and means forsupplying a dust allaying liquid through the support to the substanceand screen.

2. In a sifter, a screen, a casing inclosing said screen, a supportrotatably carried by said casing and mounting said screen for a siftingmovement within the casing, means for feeding a substance to be siftedto the screen, said support being hollow to form a conduit and having aplurality of perforations in the walls thereof in the portion adj acentthe screen, and a connection for supplying a liquid to said support andthus to the substance and screen through said perforations. v

3. In a sifter, a cylindrical screen, a casin inclosing said screen, ahollow shaft rotatably supporting the screen. within the casing, ahopper for feeding a substance to be sifted to the interior of thescreen, said shaft having a plurality of perforations in its walls inthe portion adjacent the screen for discharging a dust allaying liquidupon the substance within the cylinder, and means vfor supplying liquidto said shaft.

4:. In a sifter, a cylindrical screen, a casing inclosing said screen, ahopper at one end for feeding the substance to be sifted tothe interiorof the screen, a hollow shaft carrying said screen and extendinglengthwise through and mounted for rotation in said;

casing, one end having a portion without the casing and offset to forman operating crank, the portion of said shaft within the screen having aplurality of perforations therein casing, one end having a portionwithout the casing and offset to form an operating crank, the portion ofsaid shaft within the screen having a plurality of perforations thereinfor supplying a liquid to the substance being sifted, and a liquidsupply conduit, connected to the other end of said shaft with provisionfor relative rotation therebetween.

6. A strap having an aperture in the face thereof and its ends bent atright angles to the face, the edges of the strap adjacent the aperturebeing bent over into positions sub stantially parallel with the axis ofthe aperture, the remainder of the edges remaining unbent.

7. In combination, a shaft, a strap comprising a rectangular strip ofmetal, having its end bent at right angles thereto and the centralportion of the side edges bent at right angles thereto, the remainder ofthe edges remaining unbent, said strap having an aperture in its facethrough which the shaft passes, and a locking pin passing through thebent over side edges of the strap and through the shaft. 7

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my signature.

HENRY J. SGI-IAFFE'R.

